STOCKTON, Calif. — Construction has resumed on a new library and community center off Morada Lane in north Stockton after a 17-month pause.
The four-acre Northeast Community Center and Library project is a first of its kind for the city and would be the only library within four miles.
Stockton’s Public Works Director Chris Reed and his colleagues were supposed to cut the ribbon on a new $14.4 million community center and library two summers ago.
"We were working with the contractor. There were some construction deficiencies and a little bit of scheduling delay. In April of 2023, it was decided that we would pause the project," Reed said. "No department wants to sit on a project that's stale."
For a year and a half, the hard hats were traded out for briefcases and suits as the city's and contractor's attorneys held mediations.
"These are big projects. They take a lot of time. They take a lot of planning. They take a lot of outreach," Reed said. "We have a lot of staff that's dedicated to following this last effort to get it delivered."
Even though work stopped for several months, the construction site remained busy but for all the wrong reasons. City officials say it was broken into, vandalized and even lit on fire once, forcing the city to add nearly $10 million to the project’s budget.
"We worked through the construction deficiencies," Reed said. "We have a schedule that is agreeable by all parties and that we're confident we can deliver on."
Stockton’s City Council started to write the next chapter of the library and community center's future Tuesday night, approving the increased funding and a construction resumption agreement.
The library is being funded through Measure M, which voters approved in 2016. City officials say because of this, the cost overruns and delayed timeline will have no impact on the city's general fund.
“While we've experienced some delays in this project, in the end, we're really proud of the product we're going to deliver," Reed said, adding the new estimated completion date is fall 2025. "As a department, we'll be happy to be able to attend a ribbon cutting. I think as a city, we'll be extremely prideful."
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